The Book of Exodus (Part 2)

0:09 Welcome back to the Read Scripture podcast. And we're about a month into our Bible reading, into this journey of reading through the Bible in a year. And it's about this time where things can, I mean, it could become routine to you. And such great timing because this passage, the reading for this week, hopefully you caught it. Hopefully you see that there is nothing common. There's nothing routine about what we are doing when we come into the presence of God and we hear from him. This section of scripture is largely what motivated me, what inspires me to do this podcast and to focus on getting people alone with God and in the scriptures. Because when you read about Moses coming into the presence of God, you realize there is nothing normal about this.

1:08 There's nothing common about this. In fact, this is sacred. This is holy. That's what holy means. It's set apart. It's different. It's not like everything else in your life. See, everything else is common. Going out to dinner is common. You do it all the time. Speaking to friends, being with your wife, playing with the kids, going to work, talking to the president, talking to a famous athlete or athlete. These are all common things. But then to come into the presence of the creator, the one who made everything, and to commune with him and to fellowship with him, that is sacred. That is different from all of the mundane things we do on this planet. It's holy. and when you read about Moses entering into the presence of God it should stir your hearts to make you realize wow I have this same honor to come before the same God that Moses did and as we read these stories about him and how we entered into the presence of God and everyone looked on we have to realize this privilege is ours and this is why this is so important that we want everyone getting alone with God in his presence reading his word In Exodus chapter 19, verse 9, The Lord said to Moses, Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever.

3:06 Here in Exodus 19, God wants to make a statement. he's setting apart Moses and saying look I'm going to meet with him and I want you guys to hear when I meet with him so you believe his words God was going to reveal himself to these people specifically through Moses and and what he says in the the next verse verse 10 the Lord said to Moses go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people and you shall set limits for the people all around saying take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death no hand shall touch him but he shall be stoned or shot whether beast or man he shall not live when the trumpet sounds a long blast they shall come up to the mountain then in verse 16 he says on the mount on the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and very loud trumpet blast so that all the people in the camp trembled then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. And they stood and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire.

4:42 The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. is there any part of you that's jealous when you read that passage where you think, wow, Moses actually went up into the presence of him and he survived that. And God actually called him to himself and brought Moses into his presence. read over that passage and try to imagine yourself in those same shoes.

5:47 See, sometimes for me to get my focus back, I'll read a passage like this and just try to imagine what it was like and realize that that's whose presence I'm coming into every morning when I pray, when I read his words. later in chapter 24 verse 17 it says now the appearance of the glory of the lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of israel moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain and moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights I want you to keep that in mind as we jump forward to Exodus 32. Because remember, this is a period of time where Moses is with God.

6:45 40 days and 40 nights on that mountain with God. But look what happens as Moses is communing with God in Exodus 32. It says, People who stood at the base of the mountain in terror, seeing the lightning, seeing the thunder, hearing the voice of God.

7:38 And yet, a few days later, a few weeks later, they're going, we don't know what happened to Moses. So Aaron, make us a God. And in the subsequent verses, you see Aaron actually follows them and they melt all their gold. They make this golden calf and they start worshiping and calling these idols their gods.

8:05 And so God then speaks to Moses. And I understand some of these passages we're about to read are so strange to us. And the mistake I made when I was younger, when there was a passage that just seemed odd, I would just kind of skim through it. And really, we should actually do the opposite. when something is strange to us, we should pay more attention to us. Because that's what we're learning about God is he is so different. He deals with people differently. And what we do when we read the word of God is when we see God do things that are peculiar to us, that are not like the way we would have done it, we should pay more attention and say, God, cleanse me of my thinking because I don't think like you think, but I want to. And so here in verse 9, the Lord says to Moses, I've seen these people and behold, it is a stiff necked people. Now, therefore, let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them in order that I may make a great nation of you.

9:22 Okay, what do you learn about God right there? God's saying, Moses, just stand off. Leave me alone. Let my wrath burn hot against these people. I want to consume them and let me start all over and make a great nation out of you, Moses. but then verse 11, Moses implores the Lord his God and said, O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you've brought out of the land of Egypt with a great power and a mighty hand? Should the Egyptians say with evil intent did he bring them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. so moses speaks to god and says god if you do that look what moses argues with he says what will the egyptians think he's not even defending the people as much as he is the glory of god saying god i don't want the egyptians to think that that you yahweh god are creator that you weren't powerful enough to deliver these people.

10:40 So turn from your anger and relent from this disaster. And then in verse 14, it says, The Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing upon his people. I don't want to attempt to interpret this passage. I've heard different people say different things about whether God literally changed his mind or that God knew what Moses was going to pray. And so this was the plan all along.

11:21 I just want to be careful that we just read the passage and we see God about to destroy his people. Moses praying and saying, God, that won't look good. Protect your name. God relenting of his anger or relenting from the disaster that he was going to bring upon the people. But then a crazy thing happens when Moses starts walking down the hill in verse 19 the mountain and as soon as he came near the camp and he saw the calf and the dancing Moses's anger burned hot Moses's anger burned hot I mean that's the same phrase that that God was saying that he wanted his wrath to burn hot and Moses saying now his anger burns hot and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain he just gets so angry, he takes the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the people of Israel drink of it. And Moses says to Aaron, what did these people do to you that you brought such a great sin upon? Remember, this is Aaron.

12:39 Okay, this is significant too. Remember, this is the Aaron that Moses said, God, I don't speak real well. Come on, don't send me. How about Aaron? Aaron can speak. Can we bring him along? And now look what happens. Moses is gone for a bit. What does Aaron do? He leads these people into sin. Remember from the start, God was saying, no, I chose you, Moses. God saw something in Moses and God knew, no, you're the one that's going to lead them. And here Moses is angry with the same anger that God had of what are you guys doing? and then fascinating passage confusing passage disturbing passage in uh in verse 26 he says who is on the lord's side come to me and all the sons of levi gathered around him and he said to them And thus says the Lord God of Israel, put your sword on your side, each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp.

13:51 And each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about 3,000 men of the people fell. And Moses said, Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord. each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day. what does that teach you about God? These are the types of passages we want to just breeze through and move on to the next thing because they are so disturbing. and yet I believe there's a lot to be learned about our God in these passages. the hatred God has towards sin is so deep that he would deal with things with such a severity.

14:58 There are themes like this in the scriptures where we show our allegiance to God, to him, above all else. This is no different from what Jesus taught when he says whoever doesn't hate his father, mother, wife, kids, yes, even his own life, he's not worthy to be my disciple.

15:20 God is so intense about who he is and his own glory for us not to make a mockery of him, not to dare give credit to idols what he alone has done, that he deals with sin severely, And we can't just overlook and breeze through some of these passages.

15:44 And in verse 30, the very next verse, it says, The next day Moses said to the people, You have sinned a great sin, and now I will go up to the Lord. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. So Moses returned to the Lord and said, Alas, these people have sinned a great sin. They've made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin, but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written. But the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. Then the Lord sent a plague on the people because they made the calf the one that Aaron made.

16:43 meditate on these passages so much in that where you have Moses saying God please now you see his love for the people don't just blot them out of your book if you're going to do that just blot me too which those are pretty uh intense words very similar to what the apostle Paul says in Romans 9 about how he loved his brothers, the Israelites, so much that, gosh, this kind of love is possible where he says, I would rather be accursed for the sake of my brothers. The same thing Moses is saying here, there is this love for this people, though he's angry with them. He's saying, God, don't blot them out. Man, just blot me out if you're going to blot all of them out. And God's answer is, no, I am going to blot some of them out of my book. Their sin is too deep.

17:39 And I will visit their sin upon them. And then God sends a plague on them. but then you come to chapter 33 and uh okay i just can't emphasize how sacred these these chapters are where god says in in verse two he goes to moses i'll send an angel before you i'll drive out the canaanites the amorites the hittites the parasites the hivites and the jebusites Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. And when the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned. God's saying, go, you can have the promised land. I'll send an angel who'll drive all the people out before you. But when the people heard that, they heard it as disastrous.

18:38 When they heard this disastrous word, they mourned. so the people are saying we don't want to go without god this is this is terrible we don't want to just go to this land this is terrible news this isn't just about getting to a promised land maybe maybe here they're starting to see who god is and they're saying no we have to have him with us and and so Moses goes and speaks to God and and in verse 7 this is a we learn about the tent of meeting where Moses regularly speaks to God and pay attention to this it says Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp far off from the camp and he called it the tent of meeting and everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent all the people would rise up and each would take their stand at his tent door and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship each at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend.

20:16 so this wasn't about a one-time occurrence where Moses went up to a mountaintop to meet with God but he had this tent set apart called the tent of meeting where he would go and would just be he with God and all the people would look on and marvel and worship and it says the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. See, all the people realize this is insane. A man is entering into a tent and he's speaking with God and God is speaking to him. This is like the way men would speak to other men. this is the way a man would speak to his friend and God was speaking to Moses in this way see this is fascinating to them and it should be fascinating to us that's why when we set apart time this is this is what this is part of what motivated me just to to build a little shed you know I just bought one of those little shed kits to do yourself build it you know just to put in my backyard so I could just have a place where, gosh, no one else is around. I just want to meet with God. I just want to be alone with his word every morning. And I want to meet with you, God, like Moses met with you. I want it just to be you and me in that room. Because there's nothing like this. This is what inspires read scripture. This is why we're saying get with the word when no one else is around. We want you to have these Moses types of encounters. And even in a greater way, I believe we're promised this in the New Testament through his spirit.

22:12 and you see in verse 14 where God says my presence will go with you and I will give you rest and Moses said to him if your presence will not go with me do not bring us up from here for how shall it be known that I found favor in your sight I and your people is it not in your going with us so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth. And the Lord said to Moses, this very thing you have spoken, I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. You have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. Is there anything you want more than that?

23:10 than to know that God says you have found favor in my sight and I know you by name. this is holy. Nothing on the earth compares to these kinds of things. This is sacred. This should be the desire of our lives. Everything else is common, but to come into the presence of God and have him say, you have found favor in my sight. I know you by name. I hope that's the desire of your life. and we just close with these last three verses where moses said in verse 18 please show me your glory and god said i will make all my goodness pass before you and and will proclaim before you my name the lord and i will be gracious to whom i will be gracious and i will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But he said, you cannot see my face for man cannot see me and live.

24:26 How in the world can we read verses like this? And then treat these times as common. When you have a God that says, man cannot see my face and live. I sure hope your times with God have not grown routine and common.

24:52 Meditate on these passages. Return to Exodus 32-33. If your times with him ever get ordinary or dry, and remind yourself of the holiness of God.